Pokémon Court

The next day, Terrance once again sought out Aaron. He didn’t inform the four students—not because he was afraid of losing and embarrassing himself, but simply because bringing a group of people to watch the battle felt strange and troublesome.

“Continuing yesterday’s battle, how about it?”

Terrance spoke, still planning to send out Castform. Naturally, he also hoped to face the same Vespiquen that Lirica had mentioned.

“That was exactly my intention.”

Aaron nodded. Bug-type Pokémon had many weaknesses, so he rarely passed up an opportunity to battle against a capable Trainer, especially one whose Pokémon had a type advantage over Bug-types. This approach had been ingrained in him since his first year as a Trainer, and it was one of the key methods that helped him establish his reputation as a Bug-type specialist.

“Compared to the Elite Four… I’m still too weak.” Terrance thought to himself.

Aside from his fully powered-up Mega Altaria, he feared that none of his Pokémon could stand up against the Elite Four’s main team.

Arcanine, Beautifly, Castform, Gallade, Mismagius—none of them were up to the task!

While he had surpassed most Trainers, it was mainly due to his expertise in Pokémon breeding and reasonable use of resources. However, when compared to top-tier Trainers, he didn’t hold much of an advantage.

Even so, as a Bug-type Gym Leader, Terrance approached this battle with the mindset of learning from a true Bug-type expert.

The battlefield was quite spacious, and the Battle Hotel hadn’t added any fancy decorations to the arena. It looked like the most ordinary of arenas. However, having fought here once before, Terrance knew that the materials used for the ground weren’t of average quality. From the outside, though, it appeared quite plain.

Stepping into the reserved arena, Terrance and Aaron each took their positions on opposite sides. A staff member walked over to the referee’s spot. The service at the Battle Hotel was quite thorough—not only could one reserve an arena, but it also came with a complimentary referee. While Terrance wanted to praise the hotel for this, he suddenly lost the motivation to do so when he thought of the additional service fee.

The battle began. Without hesitation, Terrance sent out Castform. On the opposite side, Vespiquen also appeared in the arena!

“Vespiquen…” Ever since he first learned about this Pokémon, Terrance had been extremely curious. That curiosity was one of the reasons he accepted this battle in the first place!

…

…

“Senior Terrance, you’re back?”

Terrance had suddenly disappeared since the afternoon, and the students had spent quite some time looking for him. Seeing him return now, Kota was the first to speak up.

“Just got back. I went to battle Aaron,” Terrance admitted without hiding anything.

“And the result?!” The group was startled.

“Of course, I lost, haha.” Terrance scratched his head, showing no signs of frustration or resentment.

Because he had truly lost—despite Castform having a type advantage, it was still defeated by Vespiquen.

The four students didn’t ask further questions, and Terrance didn’t elaborate much either. At this moment, he needed time to digest the battle he had just experienced.

If he had to label this battle with one word, it would be… novel!

Because, in a single day, he had witnessed three signature moves!

Attack Order, Defend Order, and Heal Order—the three exclusive signature moves of Vespiquen had repeatedly hindered him throughout the battle!

“So this is one of the reasons why Aaron is so strong?” Terrance was amazed.

Vespiquen, as a Pokémon, could nurture Combee grubs within the holes in its body, release various pheromones, and freely command the grubs inside to fight against enemies.

“Dozens of them?” Terrance hadn’t counted how many Combee grubs Aaron’s Vespiquen was raising, but through its three signature moves, he had discovered the true strength of this Pokémon.

Attack Order: Summon its underlings to launch an assault on the opponent. The more it sends out, the higher the chances of critical hit, and the greater the damage!

Heal Order: Summon its underlings for healing, allowing them to continuously transfer HP back to it.

Defend Order: Summon its underlings to attach to its body and help block attacks!

Terrance had previously studied this Pokémon but hadn’t paid much attention to it because the Combee grubs were pathetically weak—even weaker than Wurmple or Caterpie.

However, in Aaron’s Vespiquen, Terrance did not see a flustered leader hastily ordering its underlings to fend off attacks. Instead, he witnessed a remarkable sight: the Vespiquen treated its Combee grubs as soldiers, each assigned to specific roles and responsible for different areas.

A single Vespiquen was like an entire army.

“A Vespiquen like this isn’t something just anyone can train.”

Terrance fell into deep thought. In this situation, it was impossible to say exactly how many Pokémon were gathered together, yet they could all be captured within a single Poké Ball. He wasn’t entirely sure how that mechanism worked.

Although he didn’t understand Aaron’s training methods, Terrance had identified the key point.

Aaron wasn’t just training Vespiquen alone—he was also rigorously training every single Combee grub living inside Vespiquen’s body!

The Combee grubs with the Hustle ability were trained for Attack Order, the ones with the Honey Gather ability were trained for Heal Order, and as for those responsible for Defend Order, they underwent a training method that even Terrance couldn’t comprehend.

“Moreover… some of these Combee grubs can use Endeavor. That move posed the greatest threat to Castform and was the main reason I lost the battle.” Terrance struggled to understand Aaron’s training methods.

Endeavor: Deals damage by forcefully lowering the opponent’s HP to match its own.

Even though the Combee grubs couldn’t use this move to its full potential, it still caused significant trouble for Castform.

After the battle, Terrance was thoroughly impressed by the remarkable abilities of Aaron’s Vespiquen and gained a deep respect for his opponent’s strength.

“It’s a pity… I don’t know how to train the Combee grubs…” Terrance frowned. Otherwise, he wouldn’t hesitate to raise a Vespiquen in his Gym. Just the three signature moves alone were already so incredible, and considering that Vespiquen had even more moves beyond those, it was easy to imagine just how powerful a properly trained Vespiquen could become!

But Combee were already difficult to raise, let alone the Combee grubs. Raising a Vespiquen was essentially the same as raising countless Pokémon. Without the right method, the cost would be astronomical, and Terrance didn’t dare to attempt it rashly.

“However, my battle with Aaron did give me some inspiration… when I combine it with what Master Victor taught me about Wishiwashi’s School Form back in Alola…”

Suddenly, Terrance’s thoughts became clear.

Wishiwashi were incredibly weak on their own, which was why they moved in school. A single Wishiwashi was pathetically weak.

But when they formed a school to fight against enemies, they became known as the Demon of the Sea, wielding immense power. Even Gyarados would flee in terror at the sight of a Wishiwashi school.

You can read ahead upto 65 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon.

Become a Patron!